In this week’s “3-&-Out,” we look at how the Steelers made big plays down the stretch and showed championship character in a hard-fought 18-16 win over the Ravens.

Under Pressure

Queen’s version of that song with the great David Bowie has been a favorite of mine for decades. Teryl Austin’s rendition on Sunday against the Ravens wasn’t bad, either.

Austin picked up where he left off in Washington, pressuring Lamar Jackson similarly to how he attacked Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. The Steelers blitzed Daniels on 53% of his drop-backs last week, resulting in three sacks and the lowest passer rating of Daniels’ young career. Austin doubled down on that recipe against Jackson, repeatedly bringing extra rushers to unsettle the MVP candidate. Pittsburgh held Jackson to a miserable 16-33 passing performance for 207 yards with one touchdown, an interception and two sacks. Stifling Jackson had a trickle-down effect on the Ravens’ offense as a whole. Baltimore entered the game leading the NFL in scoring, total yards, red-zone efficiency and rushing. The Steelers held them well under their average in each of those departments.

The key to making Austin’s pressure packages work were threefold. First, the Steelers got a great push from their interior defensive linemen, notably Cam Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi, which prevented Jackson from stepping through the pocket and into the open field.

Second, their edge rushers — T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Preston Smith — maintained the integrity of their lanes. This created a deep edge Jackson had to circumvent when he wanted to escape outside.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Austin had to trust he could play man coverage behind his pressures and have it hold up. It did. Baltimore’s wide receivers finished with just five receptions, and outside of Zay Flowers’ late touchdown catch, were largely a non-factor. Joey Porter Jr. had a great bounce-back game after struggling against the Commanders, and the rest of the secondary followed suit.

Baltimore compounded their woes with three turnovers and twelve penalties. Their final turnover was the result of a remarkable interception by Steelers’ rookie linebacker Payton Wilson. It came midway through the 4th quarter, just a few plays after Russell Wilson threw a terrible red zone interception that took at least three points off the board for Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ led 15-10 at the time, and Wilson’s pick felt like a momentum-changing play. But Payton Wilson yanked the momentum right back, raking the football out of running back Justice Hill’s arms before tumbling to the ground. The Steelers converted his interception into a field goal that ultimately provided the game-winning points:

Payton Wilson! Wow. We just got the highs and the lows of the Wilson’s in the last two minutes.. pic.twitter.com/PhgjG2tIgT

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) November 17, 2024

Wilson was on the field to make his big play because Austin was using him to match Hill. Hill is Baltimore’s best receiving back, so whenever he entered the game, Austin subbed in the athletic Wilson to cover him. It was one of many effective moves on Sunday by Austin, who seems to be playing chess against the Ravens’ offense while everyone else in the league is playing checkers.

A Curious Call

That said, Baltimore was still in position to tie the game with just over a minute remaining after driving 69 yards in nine plays to score. When Jackson found Flowers on a skinny post from 16 yards out with 1:04 to play, it was an 18-16 game.

The Ravens lined up for the ensuing two-point conversion in a bunch set to their right. Pittsburgh called timeout, and Baltimore came back with the same bunch set to their left. They motioned wide receiver Tylan Wallace out of the bunch, and had Hill, who was in at running back, lead him on a jet sweep. Jackson, however, pulled the ball and went the other way. He tried to turn the corner but linebacker Nick Herbig penetrated into the backfield to force him deep, and Porter came in from the edge to wrap him up. Jackson flung the ball towards the middle of the field, but it landed harmlessly on the Acrisure Stadium turf, allowing the Steelers to survive:

Hard to believe the Ravens relied on WR Nelson Agholor (15) to block LB Nick Herbig at the point of attack on their game-tying 2-pt conversion attempt. Herbig blows through the block, forces Lamar Jackson deep and the cavalry runs him down. Curious play call… Steelers win! pic.twitter.com/qegicrXZfD

— Kevin Smith (@KTSmithFFSN) November 17, 2024

It was a head-scratcher of a call by Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The motion was a nice wrinkle, as it pulled defenders Donte Jackson and Patrick Queen, who were responsible for Wallace and Hill in coverage, away from Jackson. But Monken asked receiver Nelson Agholor to make the play’s most crucial block. The 195-pound Agholor was responsible for cracking the 240 pound Herbig and washing him down. Had he done so, Jackson would have had a shorter edge to navigate and two pulling linemen to escort him to the end zone. But Agholor was no match for Herbig, who blew through the block and forced Jackson wide. His penetration also disrupted the path of the pulling linemen, who were unable to get out and make their blocks. This allowed Porter to come free, and he swooped in to make a sound tackle.

Just as curious was Monken’s decision to leave Derrick Henry, the league’s leading rusher and arguably its most potent short yardage back, on the sideline for the conversion. With no Henry in the game, the Steelers were less concerned about a run between the tackles, which allowed them to pursue aggressively towards the edges.

Monken has been stellar as Baltimore’s play-caller this season, but it’s a safe bet he’d like that one back.

In the Clutch

The Steelers survived this latest slugfest with the Ravens in large part because of some clutch performances. Payton Wilson’s interception was huge, as were Herbig and Porter’s efforts on the two-point conversion. But there were other notable contributions as well.

George Pickens made one big catch after another, finishing with eight receptions for 89 yards. On a day where the Steelers got just two catches for three yards from the rest of their receiving corps, Pickens was effective even when Baltimore knew he was Pittsburgh’s only legitimate downfield threat.

Queen (the linebacker, not the band) had a team-high 10 tackles and a key turnover just before halftime. With Pittsburgh trailing 7-6, he wrapped up tight end Isaiah Likely after a reception along the Baltimore sideline. As Likely struggled for extra yards, Queen ripped the ball from his grasp and pounced on it, giving the Steelers possession at the Baltimore 19. They kicked a field goal four plays later to take a 9-7 lead they would never relinquish.

Ravens tried to get cute before the end of the half and ex-Raven Patrick Queen made them pay!!
pic.twitter.com/dZp8F9BH5r

— John Frascella (Football) (@NFLFrascella) November 17, 2024

Queen called the game “personal,” noting that Baltimore made no real effort to sign him in free agency and that he left for Pittsburgh because the Steelers made him feel wanted. Head coach Mike Tomlin sent Queen out to midfield as a captain for the coin toss, which was a nice touch on Tomlin’s part.

No one was more clutch on Sunday, however, than Chris Boswell. The veteran kicker was six-for-six on field goals, as the Steelers won for the second time this season while relying exclusively on Boswell’s leg for points. Boswell is now an astounding 29-30 on field goals this season, with his only miss coming from 62 yards. Add in the fact that punter Corliss Waitman averaged 56.5 yards on four punts, including a 71-yarder, and the Pittsburgh kicking game was as good as it could be on Sunday.

In the end, this was a character win for the Steelers. They played a physical football game against a high-level opponent and made the big plays down the stretch necessary to win. They’ve now won back-to-back games against playoff-caliber teams by a total of three points. Knowing how to win in these situations will serve them well as they head towards the post-season.

And Out…

Football is a game of adjustments, and Steelers’ offensive coordinator Arthur Smith made a nice one at halftime.

Smith called 24 pass plays in the first half. Counting the four sacks Baltimore registered, they netted just 53 total yards. That was in large part because the Ravens were playing a “nothing deep” defense to take away Russell Wilson’s ability to throw down the field. Instead, they made Wilson hold the ball in the pocket and work through his progressions to find a receiver.

In the second half, Smith called just 16 passes but they netted 128 yards. Wilson did hit one long one to Pickens, but the rest were predominantly slants, screens, swings and crossing routes. Those throws are not in Wilson’s preferred repertoire, but they got the ball out of his hand quickly and took advantage of what Baltimore was giving the Steelers.

The strategy paid off. Pittsburgh had five three-and-outs in the first half. In the second half, they had none. They also controlled the football for twenty of the game’s final thirty minutes. It wasn’t the best afternoon Pittsburgh’s offense has had all season, but the change in philosophy Smith adopted after halftime was a key to victory.

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